October 26, 2007—Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority, and Siemens Building Technologies launched a major landfill-gas-to-energy project that will support economic development and cleaner air in Aiken County, SC.
This renewable energy project will capture methane gas naturally generated within the Three Rivers Regional Landfill at Jackson and transport it through a 15- mile pipeline to Kimberly-Clark’s manufacturing facility at Beech Island, where it will be used to produce steam for the production of Kimberly-Clark’s products, such as Kleenex facial tissue, Cottonelle and Scott bathroom tissue, Huggies diapers, and Pull-Ups training pants.
Methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced as organic material decomposes in landfills. Recovering landfill gas for energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, benefits the economy by providing a stable, local source of alternative energy, and improves local air quality, the companies say.
The annual reduction of greenhouse gases attributable to this project has the same effect as removing 41,000 cars from the road, reducing oil consumption by more than 500,000 barrels, or planting nearly 59,000 acres of forest, as calculated by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program.
Sustainability is an essential aspect of its business at the Beech Island facility and across Kimberly-Clark.
Kimberly-Clark will purchase the gas under a 15-year supply agreement with the Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority. Siemens is designing and building the landfill gas collection facility and pipeline, with construction already under way. When the project becomes operational in April 2008, it will provide 1,800 cubic feet of landfill gas per minute to fuel steam boilers at the Beech Island facility.
For more information visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site.
